5th wheels


kjtdrt

New Member
What are some of the upper class 5th wheels? We are planning to go fulltime and want to find a nice quality manufacture. We will be planning a trip to Indiana in June tosee some manufactures. Any recommendations there? We will make the full time move in 2 years, after we have sold everything and done all our homework! Thanks for any suggestions!
 

Grandview Trailer Sa

Senior Member
Re: 5th wheels

Hello and welcome.
Prairie Schooner by Gulf Stream and Titan by Sunny Brook should looked at for sure. There are lots out there:
Look for R-values in roof, walls, floor.
Look at size of water heaters and furnaces.
Look at holding tank sizes.
Look at ceiling heights and depth of the slideouts.
Look for "fit and finish" and materials used.

Compare price vs. quality. A $120,000 Teton won't have the R-values of a $50,000 Prairie Schooner, for example. But Teton will make larger trailers and have features you can't get on a Schooner.

Good luck!
 

DL Rupper

Senior Member
Re: 5th wheels

Gulf Stream is a good one, take a look at HitchHiker (NUWA), Excel, Alpenlite(Western Recreational Vehicles), Carriage, Travel Supreme, Titanium to name a few more. Montana seems to have a good rep also.
 

mandymuffin

New Member
RE: 5th wheels

DEFINATELY LOOK AT THE "KING OF THE ROAD" MFG IN OHIO WE HAVE HAD AT LEAST A DOZEN R/V'S AND NOW OWN A 32FT 5ER[SLANG WORD FOR A FIFTH WHEEL V/S A TAG-A-LONG[TAG] BE SURE TO GET THE CORRECT PROVERBIAL "HORSE BEFORE THE CART" AND BE POSITIVE YOU HAVE ENOUGH H.P YOU CAN ALWAYS USE MORE .WE TOW OUR 32FT 5ER WITH A CHEV.2001, 2500H.D 3/4 T.4X4 AUTO TRANS. WITH A 6.0 ENGINE. A DIESEL WITH AN ALLISON IS TOPS CANNOT BEAT THE COMBO. HAVE FUN AND ENJOY. :) :)
 

DL Rupper

Senior Member
Re: 5th wheels

Sure you can mandymuffin. Dodge diesel smoke smells better. :bleh: :bleh: :bleh: :approve:
 

rdgordon

New Member
Re: 5th wheels

Don't forget the look into the Double Tree brand, such as Select or Mobile Suites. Excellent R values and quality made.
 

gnomingroam

New Member
Re: 5th wheels

although I do not own one as yet, I have done a lot of research and find the Glendale Titanium line to be a very promising prospect. Revolutionary design and features (especially the over cab feature that makes a 34 footer like a 38 footer), well insulated, good quality and price. Check em out on the web.
 

DL Rupper

Senior Member
Re: 5th wheels

The Titanium looks good, however I'm a little leery of the thickness of the wood in the roof. I believe they claim about 1/2 inch and most RV's have 5/8 inch. I like to get up on top and walk around and want to make sure I don't come crashing through the roof. They do have an extra layer of aluminum so maybe that makes up for the 1/8 inch less thickness in the wood.
 

gnomingroam

New Member
Re: 5th wheels

www.glendalerv.com
regarding the titanium, you are correct about the extra aluminum but the plywood is 3/8 inch...but it is plywood not that composite stuff, they also have metal roof trusses 16 inches OC with fiberglass insulation for a R14 insulation for the roof. I just checked for accuracy.
 

gnomingroam

New Member
Re: 5th wheels

NuWa's have 5/16, montanas have 3/8, plywood on the ceiling
mckenzie, excel, sunnybrook and coachman make no mention on the brochures
so I guess the bottom line is asked and verify because DL makes a VERY good point about walk-on ability hahaha homemade skylights anyone?
 

DL Rupper

Senior Member
Re: 5th wheels

My 200 lbs is risky up on top. I know if I lost 25 lbs it would help. My HitchHiker (NUWA) has always held ok. I have looked at the Titaniums and they do look pretty good. Hope the aluminum adds the extra margin for safety. It is important to get up on the roof and clean the rubber membrane 2 to 3 times per year. If the manufactures don't make the roof strong enough, that could cause problems. :( 3/8 inch plywood sounds a little risky to me. My 5/8 inch plywood roof gives a little as I walk on top.

It is also important to clean the roofs on the slides before closing them. Some RV's have small awnings/covers over the slide when it is extended, but they look like they cause more problems than they cure. I climb up my ladder and check the roofs on the extended slides and sweep them when necessary before closing. Strong roofs are just another thing that needs to be considered before buying. :)

New buyers need to check the specifications closely and compare the insulation, materials and techniques used, and designs incorporated in the manufacture of a RV before buying. ;)
 

cairnit

New Member
Re: 5th wheels

We went with Glendale, but it was before the Titanium line came out. We have a Golden Falcon 40' /3 slide, I believe the Golden Falcon is now only made as a park model.
This is our first RV. The main reasons we went with this model are 1) my husband liked the way it was put together, as a welder he looked real hard at the frame
2) Being made in Ontario, it seemed to have the best insulation at the time we were looking, and 3) My husband is 6'2" tall, I wanted to make sure that he could walk and stand upright in every room in the camper. The ceiling hieght in the BR is @ 6'7", the is the shortest area in the whole camper (except for in the slide units, where you are usually sitting).

Make sure you get the bet that you can afford, as far as quality and comfort (including insulation factor), don't go too long because you may then have problems finding places to park. We have had that problem a couple of times, 36' seems to be no problem. And, make sure you have the correct hauler and hitch.

Our unit weighs @ 16000 and the dealer was going to give us a 15K hitch to pull it with, I made him get us a 20K before we would close the deal and get the camper off the lot.

We now pull it with a 2000 F550 deisel and 30K hitch.


HAPPY HUNTING
 

DL Rupper

Senior Member
Re: 5th wheels

cairnet, sounds like you got the right sized truck to pull the 40 footer with. The Golden Falcon was in the better made 5th Wheel group a few years back. They seemed very similar to the HitchHiker II before they stopped making them.
 
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